good rule and order be upheld, and ye peace and quiett of his Majtys good subjects in ye several parts pr'served, I have thought fitt, by and with ye advice of his Majty Council, to put forth this Proclamation, hereby strictly charging, & in his May's name requiring all officers civil and military (who have qualified themselves by taking ye oaths appointed by Law, pursuant to ye Act of Parliam' made in the sixth year of her late Majtys reign, Intitled an Act for ye security of her Majties p'rson & Governm', & of the succession to y crown of Great Brittain in the Protestant line; and a Procla mation issued by their Excellencys the Lords Justices of Great Brittain) And ye respective Courts of Justice within this Pro to attend ye Duty of their respective offices, places and employms, & vigorously to exert themselves in ye execution of ye Laws for ye. conservation of the peace & Administration of Justice, according to ye powers & trust in them severally reposed, until his Majties pleasure shall be known therein, as y tendr y duty and Allegiance to his Sacred Majtie & will answer ye neglects thereof att their perill. Willing and commanding also in his Majties behalf, all his Majes loving subjects to pay a just deference, yield a dutiful obedience & to be aiding, helping and assisting at y com mandt of the said officers and ministers in ye performance [P. 335.] & execution of their respective offices, places and employm's; as they and every of them tend' his Majties utmost displeasure & will answer the neglect of their duty therein at y' perill. Given at the Council Chamber in Portsmo, upon Monday, ye thirty-first of Jan' 1714-5, in ye first year of the reign of our Soveraign Lord George, by ye Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defend' of y* Faith, &c. By order of ye Gov & Councill, Ch: Story, Sec. J. DUDLEY. God Save the King. A petition p'sented to this board by ye town of Hampton, (as on file) was read; on hearing of which, Ordered, That the Selectmen of Hampton and Exeter be notified to appear on Monday next, at 10 o'clock, before this board, in ord' to have a further hearing of sd Petition, & yt a copy of ye Petition be sent to Exeter Selectmen. His Hon' y Lt. Gov' enquired of ye Council whether anything had been done by ye Assembly as a gratification to him for his former service, as he had formerly proposed to them in Augt last. They answered, the Committee had not mett since he was here last. A Petition p'ferred to this Board, by John Redman, subscribed by Wm. Staniford, Edwd Tuck, &c, was read; Whereupon it was ordered That the several complainers apply ymselves to Capt. Atkinson, who was command of ye Fort, ye several years, wherein they say they are wronged, and settle y' accounts. and make a report thereof to this board from Capt. Atkin son. The Petition of Hampton was read at this Board, the Selectmen of Hampton & Exeter both being p'sent. Upon hearing both p'ties it was Ordered, That ye lines between Hampton & Exeter be seen and perambulated wthin fourteen days, & yt each town appoint a town meeting forthwith to choose a Committee to run the said lines, and yt Capt. James Jeffrey be y survey to do yt service & make his return to this board, y towns paying his charge. Col. Packer's Acct. dated in Jan' last, 1714, and ye first of Feb and 7th ditto, amounting to £4: 13: 11, is allowed & ordred to be pd in course. Ordered, By the Councill, yt ten pounds be p'sented to ye Lieut. Gov for the service of this Journey, besides his charges for a man to attend him, 30s. Whereas Charles Story,* Esq., deceased, was late Secretary of this Province, in whose hands ye Books of records and files of papers belonging to this Governm' lay; For the following notice of Charles Story, Esq., the Editor is indebted to the late Hon. S. D. Bell, of Manchester. Charles Story was appointed Judge of the Court of Admiralty for New Hampshire in the fall of 1696. He sailed for Portsmouth late in the same season, and arrived about the middle of January, 1797. On the 19th of that month he presented his commission to the President and Council, which was re: d, approved, and ordered to be recorded. I have been able to ascertain nothing of his early history, of the time or place of his birth, of his parentage, education or employment. From his appointment one may fairly infer that in some capacity he had been trained to the legal profession, probably at Doct. rs' Commons, whence the Admiralty officers had been most usually selected. As the profits of his new office must have been small, he probably did not leave a very lucrative position at home. Ordered, That two Gent" of ye Councill, viz. Sam. Penhallow and Mark Hunking, Esqs. demand and receive of ye Execs of said Story all such books and papers belonging to this Govern' as above, and deposite ye same in yo hands of Maj. Wm. Vaughan, there to remain till further order. Though the people of the Province were broken into parties, Mr. Story was pleasantly received by the party in power, and Mr. Henry Penny, who had been previously Secretary of the Province, was removed from office, and Mr. Story was appointed, took the oaths, and the records and files of the Province were placed in his custody. The Council again convened on the first of February, but Mr. Story did not attend. They ordered a boat to be sent to Newcastle for him immediately. He appeared the next day, and the President reprimanded him for the neglect. Story answered "with lofty indecent carriage towards the Council," and said he had been cautioned against acting in those offices. The Council enquired by whom, but he declined to answer, and suspicions were entertained that he had been talked to by Lt. Governor Usher, who was in active hostility to the President and a majority of the Council. The Council then demanded of him the books and papers which had been delivered to him, but he peremptorily refused to deliver them. Whereupon the Council ordered the Constable to take him into custody, and issued a warrant to the Sheriff and Capt. John Pickering to take assistance and make search of houses, &c., for such books and papers, and bring them to the President and Council. The Sheriff in a short time brought the records and files. Mr. Story was brought in and informed that they had obtained their books and papers, notwithstanding his efforts to prevent it; and since he had so peremptorily refused to serve the King, and so dismissed himself, the President and Council dismissed him. As to his office of Judge of the Admiralty within this Province, the Court would do what was proper in countenancing and assisting him in the exercise of that office, according to his commission." So Mr. Story was dismissed, and Mr. Penny re-appointed.-Ad. An. of Ports., 104. Usher, it is said, sent Story to England with complaints to the Lords of trade against the President and Council, which would show that Story chose to connect himself with Usher and the minority, rather than with the President and majority of the Council. Ib. 107. Mr. Penny remained in the office of Secretary until February, 1698, when he was superseded by Sampson Sheafe, who held the office till the accession and qualification of Gov ernor Bellomont in July, 1699, when Mr. Story was appointed Secretary, in the place of Sheafe. He held the office of Secret ry till 1704, when the place was given to Samuel Penhallow, who was in office one year under Governor Usher. Mr. Story then resumed the office, and continued in it till the appointment of Richard Waldron as Clerk of the Council, by Governor Vaughan, in 1715. In 1699 Mr. Story was appointed Register of Probate, and appears to have continued in the office till his death, the last date of his record being Dec. 11, 1714. He signs his probate records till Oct. 19, 1703, as Secretary, and till the end of 1705 Secretary and Register, and after that, Register. Little is known of his ability and capacity as Judge of the Court of Admiralty, and the length of time he remained in that office is rendered uncertain by the statements in the Judicial History of Massachusetts, that the Jurisdiction of the Judges of the Admiralty for the Northern District of New England included Maine and New Hampshire, as well as Massachusetts. In 1712 Mr. Story was Attorney-General of the Province, and he was engaged as Council in many of the most important lawsuits, sometimes with Capt. Pickering, sometimes against him. Jarvis Ring, John Meinzies and John Valentine, were often engaged on the other side. Meinzies became Judge of the Admiralty in 1715. In September, 1709, Mr. Story took a lease from Vaughan and others, Committee of the town, of one of the Glebe Lots, but did not comply with the conditions, and it was leased to another person.-Br. Rambles, 40, 41, 42. Mr. Story's residence was at New Castle. He seems to have dealt little in real estate, few deeds to which he was party being found on record. His will is found on the files of the Registry Office, dated March 4, 1714-15, in which he says he is sick and weak in body; gives to his wife Susanna all his estate, real and personal, except a few shillings each to four kinsmen and kinswomen, named Foster, and to Barbara Booth. His will was proved March 17, 1715-16. Nothing further is found relating to his estate. Province of New Hampshire. At a Council held at Portsm° y 28th March, 1715. Present. William Vaughan, Esqs. John Plaisted, ) Esqs. Pursuant to his Excellency's direction of ye 224 curr1 the Council ordered that his Majties Proclamation for ye continuance of all offices civil and military, shall be made Pub lick by beat of Drum; wch was accordingly done as usually in like cases of his Majties Commands, wth ye attendance of two foot companies. [P. 338.] At a Council held at Portsmouth, April 26th, 1715. Present. His Excellency, Joseph Dudley, Esq., Gov'. Richard Waldron, Esqs. Sam' Penhallow, Jno. Plaisted, ) Esqs. The Petition of Natt. Lang was read, as follows: To his Excellency, Joseph Dudley, Esq. Gov' &c. & yo Honorable, y Council, now sitting, the Petition of Natt. Lang: Humbly sheweth, That yo' Petitioner, being one of ye Constables of Portsmo in the year 1714, had a list of rates committed to him to collect for ye Prov. use, by virtue of wch & a legal warrant to him directed by ye selectmen and assessors, he did apprehend and bring before two Justices of the Peace sundry p'sons named in that list, to ye number of thirteen, who refused to pay their rates or show yo' petitioner any estate to distrain upon; wch Justices refused to take any cognizance at all of the matter; each man going away as he pleased; since which the Treasurer has caused an execution to be levyed on your petitioner's estate to satisfy |